Improvement in tailors  measures



UNIT STATES I PATENT j OFFIC lTHAMAR nu nors, or BROOKLYN, new roan.

IMFROVEMENT m TAILORS MEASURES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115,180, dated May 23,1871.

C I, ITHA MAR DU' BoIs, of Brooklyn, Kings county State of New York,have invented a Measunng-Instrument for Drafting and FittingGarments, ofwhich the following is a specification, illustratedby drawing andreferred to herein by figures and letters marked thereon.-

I f The object of my invention is to make positivemeasure of andaboutthe neck and shoulders of the human form, so that the same may beused n the fitting of garments thereto without leavlng so muchto thejudgment of the cutter as hashitherto been the case.

' there is both a slope and a curve, which not only wary indifferentpersons, but also in the two shoulders of the same person. This slope isnot only downward from the point named-'- at the base of the neck--butis also forward or backward, in difierent degrees, from -ahori zontalline drawn through the neck where the shoulder-blades are conneotedwithit. Again, the shoulders are of different heights inthe same individual-;;It. for thepurposeof takingmeasuresof these varying forms anddifferences that my invention is to be used.

Description of the Drawing. Figure 1 is atop view of the instrument inall its principal parts.

A A is a graduated bar of tenor twelve inches in length. 0 G is a slotin the center of A, which allows the traverse of an upright graduatedrule, D, seen in side view in Fig. 2, within it. E is a block attachedto the end of the rule or bar A, and vibrating on it by means of the pinor screw or, as seen in the dotted lines in Fig. 2. B B are metal rodsfixed firmly to the block E and at right angles with it, the position ofthese rods being seen also in the side view of Fig. 2. G is a curvedslip or hook of metal moving in a groove cut in the upper face of theblockE, and held in position by the screw H. v I is a flexible orgraduated tape-measure, which passes through the end freely through :theblO of the block E,'as seen at c, Fig. 2, or otherwise attached to it. Eis another block, provided with rods B B this block sliding on ,the barA and confined at any desirable point by the screw J. K K is anothergraduated bar,-one endof which lies on" the rod B and the other endsupported on the: rodB by means of a graduated upright, L, seen in sideview,Fig. 3, one edge of which isnotched or toothed, so that it may beraised or lowered on the rod B until the plumb-rod M, Fig. 3,p0intin gto the zero-mark 0 on K K, shows that this latter is in a levelposition. Theupright piece D is seen in side view, Fig. 2.- It isgraduated from its under face, measuring upward.

Fig. 4 shows the under ,face of the block E,

andFig. 5 shows the rear face of the same,

showing graduations each way from a zero point. I This point, when therods B B are at right angles with A, will be over a like zeropoint, seenon it in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows the under side of the sliding block F, g being a hollowwhich fits on the outer crown of the shoulder.

In Fig. 2 the piece N N, which cannot be seen in Fig. 1, is a thinelastic piece of metal, which may also be graduated on one or both itsfaces,i-(same as the bar A,) and is affixed E by the same screw whichatto the block 7 caches the bar A. The other end of N slides The graduatednpright D clasps the'pie'ce NfN,sliding upon it with sufficient frictionto remain where it is desirably placed in taking the-measure.

P, Figs. 1 and2, represents ahookattached to the block F, its officebeing to receive the two clasps or hooks of an elasticlstrap, Q, to

be seen in Fig. 7, and will be further described.

It is to be remarked, and will be seen from inspection of the drawing,that B B are so placed in the block E that when its beveled face, asseen in Fig. 2, is brought up closely to the neck these rods shallrepresent the point of junction between the highest point of theshoulder-blade and the neck, the shoulderblade lying between the socketsin which the rods B B are inserted. It will also be noticed in Fig. 4.that the point of the block E, where it comes against the neck, isslightly curved so as to facilitate the closefittin g of this block tothe neck.

Fig. 7 will show the method of applying and using theinstrument and theoperation of the.

various parts. The hook G is slipped on the band of the shirt and theblock E placed firmly upon the highest point of the shoulder at theneck, the shoulder-blade lying between the sockets which hold the rods BB care being taken that the under side of the instrument lies closelyupon the shoulder. The hook G is then fastened by the screw H. Anelastic strap, 0 0, provided with a hook at each end is passed under thearm opposite to the side where the measure is being taken and hooked tothe neck of the screw E. This confines the instrument closely to theneck and shoulder at this point. The sliding block F is then accuratelyadjusted, with its hollow directly on the outer crown of the shoulder,and secured by the screw J. Another elastic strap, Q, made in the samemanner as O O, is passed directly under this arm and hooked to P, sothat the instrument is now confined at both of the highest points of theshoulder. The rule K K is laid on the rod B at one end, and the otherattached to the rod B and moved up and down upon it by means of thetoothed upright L till the plumbbob M, by pointing at the zero-mark,denotes that the rule L is level. The flexible or tape measure is thenpassed around the neck, determining its size. The upright piece D isthen moved in the slot in the rule A and along the elastic rule N Nuntil it is directly over that part of the shoulder which is most curvedor hollowed out. D is then pressed downward till the rule N liesalongthis curve, and the graduation of D at its intersection with theunder face of the bar, A is noted, as also the position of D on thegraduations. of. A. A record also is made of the graduations on the rearof the block E in their relations to the zero-point 0 on bar A. Thelength of the line from the rod B to the block 1* is indicated on thegraduations of the bar A; the length of the line from the crown of theshoulder to the junction of the base of the neck and shoulder-blade isgiven on the rule K K, counting its graduations from its upright L tothe point where it lies upon and intersects the rod B and the height ofthe line from the lower face of the rule K K to the base of the neck isgiven by the graduations on the upright L to where it is attached to therod B To sum up, I have (taking the junction of the shoulder-blade asthe starting-point) the measures in a right line from the base of theneck to the crown of the shoulder, the depth and position on this lineof the curve between the two points named, the length of the base-lineon a level from the crown of the shoulder to where the slope of the backcommences toward the base of the neck, and the height of 7 this slopefrom the base-line to the base of the neck, as well, also, the size ofthe neck and the angle of the pitch of the shoulder, either forward orbackward, of the point where the shoulder-blade meets the base of theneck. The instrument applied to the other shoulder in the same mannerand the measurements noted and compared with those first taken will showthe difference between them, and the garment be drafted to meet thesedifferences.

I have described that form and construction of the instrument which Iconsider best, but it is obvious that changes of the detail can be madewithout varying the principle; for instance, a level on the rule K K maybe sub-, stituted for the plumb-bob, and a level may be placedtransversely on the bar A or the block F to secure the horizontalposition of the rods 15 and B and the notched upright may be attached bya slide and graduating-screw to the rod B but in practice I have foundthe form described to be simple, effective, and easily managed.

I do not claim, broadly, the taking measurement of the human form bymeans of graduated rules, nor the use of a plumb line or level inconnection therewith, as in various forms they have been used many yearsbut What I do claim as novel and useful is- 1. The vibrating block E andthe sliding block F, provided, respectively, with the rods B B and B Bin combination with the slotted rule or graduated bar A, the elasticpiece N, and upright rule D.

2. The rule K, with its toothed graduated upright rule L, combined withthe plumb line and bob M, and with the blocks E and F and rods B and B,the upper rule D, and elastic rule N, all made and operatingsubstantially as set forth and described, or their mechanicalequivalents.

ITHAMAR DU BOIS. Witnesses:

WM. PRATT, WM. S. DU Bors.

